It was quite an evening. A tangible example of perseverance, Ray Whitney, picked up his 1,000th career point with an assist and then seconds later scored to "start another 1,000," as he joked between periods.

He briefly trended on Twitter, for Pete's sake.

And Smith was unbelievable. The Ducks came at him fast and strong, and nothing seemed to faze him. He shrugged off several power plays and made a few crowd-pleasing glove saves.

Even the crowd delivered a huge assist when national-anthem singer Patrick Lauder's microphone went out. The fans took over and delivered a darn good rendition.

Saturday night felt like a team in sync.

The victory was huge. The team is in a tight battle with Dallas, Los Angeles and San Jose for the Pacific Division title and third seed in the Western Conference.

You could see the fight in this team. Oliver Ekman-Larsson landed in the penalty box four minutes into the game, and the Ducks went hard at Smith during the power play. He made an array of gritty stops, and his effort seemed to fuel his teammates.

And what happened next? Ekman-Larsson popped out of the box and scored on a breakaway for a 1-0 Coyotes lead.

Smith set the tone. The Ducks outshot the Coyotes 21-7 in that period, and many of their attempts came while Ekman-Larsson was serving his time.

"Felt like an hour," Ekman-Larsson told Todd Walsh between periods.

And then, get this, for the second consecutive game, the Coyotes scored on a power play. This time it was a bullet from Derek Morris through a screen that Antoine Vermette deflected midway through the second period for a 2-0 Coyotes lead.

And then came Whitney's contributions on the next two goals. The first, an assist, prompted the players to thrust his arms in celebration. And relief. He admitted he had started feeling the pressure.

One key the Coyotes have working for them heading into this final stretch is their demeanor. They don't rattle.

At Saturday's morning skate, the team projected a focused but poised group.

The shaggy-haired, easy-going Smith was happy to do an interview even though he was starting later in the day. Many of his goalie brethren, like most of Major League Baseball's starting pitchers, don't like to talk on game day.

"Nah, I don't really care," he said. "I'm not very superstitious."

In fact, Smith seemed most excited about getting some shut-eye in before the game.

"I'm a big napper. It's part of a routine. I can sleep anytime, anywhere."

He wasn't sounding like a guy wound up too tight for the big game. Maybe it's the influence of Acton, who has "shared some wisdom in the mental approach to things," Smith said.

It worked. Smith made 44 saves and was downright impressive in the process.

"We need him to be huge for us," Keith Yandle said before the game. "Especially the last four games, we need him and everybody else to be at their best."

"It's going to come down to goaltending. That's what the playoffs are, the best goaltending. Smitty been great all year, and we've definitely got the faith in him. He's a competitive guy who loves to be in the moment."

Credit Coyotes coach Dave Tippett, too. It's his personality, of not overreacting to the losses and not putting too much stock in victories, that has helped guide this team.

You need that kind of presence when so much is at stake.

A telling statistic since Tippett's arrival in the Valley in 2009 is that the team is 67-25-32 in one-goal games. That's a statement about a team following the lead of a coach's personality.

They have morphed into that team against this season. They are 10-2-5 in one-goal games since Jan. 24. In the previous 10, they were 0-5-5.

You can't beat the chemistry. You know who one of the last players out of the locker room is after morning skates and practices? Shane Doan. He not only still cares about this game but he's monitoring, making sure the younger players are taken care of before he leaves.

It was Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday, and throughout the game players would show up on the video screen thanking fans.

It felt a bit like final goodbyes to Phoenix fans because of the uncertain future.

It has been awfully quiet, and those being the scenes say it's a good thing.

There are options, and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told The Republic's Lisa Halverstadt that the league remains focused on keeping the team in Glendale.

"We don't hear anything, and I think it's a good thing for us, out of sight, out of mind," Yandle said.

"We don't hear much about it, we don't talk much about it. It's not an issue."

Now the issue simply is about winning. And the Coyotes seem to have a good grasp of that right now.